May 2019

(thanks Mark Perkins, for the cover drawing from the original Rough Draft in 1973)

MAY IS BIKE MONTH

Are you aware that MAY is National Bike Month? Did you know that May was declared National Bike Month by the League of American Bicyclists (LAB) in 1956? Who is the League of American Bicyclists you ask? The League has its roots in America as one of the first national bicycling organization founded in May 30, 1880 in Rhode Island. Their original name was the League of American Wheelmen. At the turn of the century they had over 103,000 members. Over the past 139 years the LAB has had it’s ups and downs much like many bicycle clubs: high membership then low membership, then being revived a couple of times and now thriving as our National representatives working for bicycle safety based in Washington DC. The LAB was advocating for better and safer roadways even before the automobile came along. Of course when cars came on the scene, bicycles were relegated to child’s toys until bicycling became popular again in the 40 & 50’s.

In the spirit of MAY IS BIKE MONTH, the Fresno County Bicycle Coalition, several local Bicycle shops, and other ride groups like The Fresno Bike Party as well as the Club are putting on bicycle events and activities throughout the month. Keep a watch on Facebook, the ride calendar (www.fresnocycling.com) and your email to see what is happening and when.

MALL to HALL RIDE

The first event in May will be the Mall to Hall (Fresno City Hall) ride from Manchester Center to City Hall downtown on May 1st. Meet near the bus stop in front of Sears at Manchester Center at 08:00am. Two satellite starts at 07:00 am, one from Starbucks near REI in River Park, and the other at Starbucks in Clovis at Sierra Vista Mall.

MAY THE 4TH BE WITH YOU

The annual Kirch Flat “May the 4th be with you” Century ride on May 4th from Paso Tiempo Park at Barstow – De Wolf in Clovis at 7 am. Check out the FCC Website (www.fresnocycling.com) for more information. The weather should be great, and there are also shorter rides available.

Since Saturday falls on 4th, we have decided to do this year's theme "May the 4th Be With You" Participants are welcomed to dress Star Wars themed if they like.

Also our shirts will be a galaxy theme so watch out for those. They are gonna fly off the shelfs ;) lol.This year we are also bringing back our BOMB medal and its going to be better then ever.

The Kirch Flats Century, Hilly and Flat Metric Centuries, and 45 mile all start at 7:30. There's also a Family Ride, 15 miles, that starts at 10:00. Here's a link to the signup page.

Other events in May will be the Ride of Silence, Shop to Shop to Shop ride and other fun rides and activities. Check the Ride Calendar (www.fresnocycling.com) and Facebook for info as it becomes available.

BLESS OUR VOLUNTEERS

I would like to thank each of our volunteers who work tirelessly to help make our events special and professional. We strive to serve our community and members by sponsoring exciting bike ride events, and work to fill our ride calendar with lots of everyday ride choices. Our Club’s mission is to create an atmosphere of bicycling passion which encourages more folks to want to ride. Riding is a great form of recreation, but it is also a great form of exercise.

It is also beneficial to your health to volunteer on occasion. I want to reach out to all our members and friends of the Club to reiterate the importance of volunteering to help with our Club activities. Over the past several years our club membership has grown from about 300 members to over 950 members. With that many members, if everyone could help on at least one event per year ,then we wouldn’t have to continually rely on the same small number of members to make the Club events awesome.

We have a new free volunteer signup software (volunteersignup.org) that we will be utilizing to allow volunteers to sign up for future events. Please give your fellow members a break and take your turn at volunteering. You will find that it is very rewarding to see your fellow bicyclist appreciating you for what you’re doing for them.

CLIMB TO KAISER

Less than two months away from the 43rd Climb to Kaiser, are you going to be ready? I wish I had known about the Climb to Kaiser when I was in my 20’ and 30’s, not sure why I didn’t. I used to ride my bike back then, I had even done a few century and metric century rides, but had never been introduced to the Climb to Kaiser. It wasn’t until I was 50 did I ride it for the first time. My goal was to make it back before dark. I wasn’t a fast hill climber back then as I weighed about 205 lbs, but I made it in as the sun was going down. This was in July 2001, when they had it the last Saturday of July from Letterman’s Park in Clovis. Of course this was back before Garmins and GPS, so the ride that was advertised as 13,000 feet of climb in 150 miles, actually 15,500 feet on climbing in 155 miles!

It is amazing to think we have this awesome ride right in our back yard. Especially since it ranks among the top 10 toughest rides as well as top 10 most beautiful rides as ranked by Bicycling magazine and Grandfondo.com respectively. It is definitely a ride that the majority of riders need to train for. It’s not a ride that your casual bicyclist would be able to complete.

Riders often compare the Climb to Kaiser with other rides such as the Death Ride (Tour of California Alps). The Death Ride is a challenging ride but the difference is the with the Death Ride you have a longer recovery time between climbs. With the Kaiser you are mostly climbing for 80 miles until you get to the top of Kaiser Pass, and even though you have made it that far there is still a fair amount of climbing to do. The reward with either ride is knowing that you have accomplished something that is pretty unique.

FACT PADYAKAN RIDE

Congratulations to our very own FACT (Filipino American Cycling Team) for sponsoring this year’s 13th annual Padyakan ride. It was attended by well over 100 riders. There were Filipino clubs who attended from as far away as Stockton and Tracy to the north and Delano and Lemoore to the South. The after ride meal was fabulous as usual consisting of a whole BBQ’d PIG, Lumpias, Pancit, Lechon, BBQ’d chicken skewers and much more. Congrats to the new FACT President Veron Bresenio of the Lemoore Chapter.

THE FCC THURSDAY NITE TACO RIDE

Now that the weather and sunlight are cooperating, the Thursday night rides from Enzo’s Table is becoming a very popular ride.

We meet at 5:45 pm and roll at 6 PM. There are currently 2 ride offerings; from Enzo’s to Friant and back; or from Enzo’s riding the Circuit CCW.

The start location was changed as there is less traffic to deal with and there is ample parking.

Hope to see you at the Kirch Flat this Saturday!

That’s it for now! Ride safe and ride legal (at least when others are looking).

There are a lot of rides to choose from and those are just the local rides. The Wildflower Century will be April 27th, and the Light House Century will be on Sept 28th.

Find us on the web at www.fresnocycling.com or find us Facebook and get plugged into one of the ride groups. Start your training for the big events!

That’s all I have for now. See you on the road!

The Prez, aka Dennis Ball

LOCAL BIKE SHOPS AND RESTAURANTS

For many of us, eating and riding are the two major things in life. We all rely on and support our local bike shops. These are the people dedicated to making sure that we can all safely enjoy what we do. A few local restaurants go out of their way to accomodate cyclists. Please be sure to support these folks, and tell them you are an FCC Member!

OTHER ITEMS

The Fresno Cycling Club is a group of some 800+ cyclists who enjoy bicycling as recreation and sport. As a club we seek to offer cycling events and activities that span a spectrum of cycling interests. Club rides are scheduled year round and range from novice level to 200-mile expert rides. We protect the rights of cyclists by following local, state, and national affairs as they concern cycling. Club members receive a monthly newsletter listing ride schedules and other information of interest to cyclists. Don't wait another minute! Join now! Welcome to the Fresno Cycling Club.